Link Love: Up A Tree

I am enjoying all of the leafy goodness that is happening around my house and it's made me more in tune with nature-inspired crafts. Here are some of my current favorites.


Above is the most darling Cherry on the Tree Swing embroidery pdf pattern from comfortstitches. I love Aneela's whimsical designs and that her blog is such a fantastic source of both quilting and embroidery info.

I'm going through a bit of a brooch phase and while it was hard to choose something to highlight from Lou Lou & Oscar from Lisa Aaron (go look at her etsy shop and you'll see why), this sweet Little Wooden Brooch fit for today. It's printed with a midnight blue ink and would be completely fetching on a simple blazer.

I believe that we're a little past cherry blossom season, but that might make enjoying this Three Piece Cherry Blossom cross stitch set from Whimsy and Charm all the more appropriate. Tanya actually mostly makes "tsumami kanzashi", which is the process of taking small squares of silk and folding them (sort of like origami) into individual flower petals. i then take these petals and form them into a lovely little flower." So be sure to take a look at that part of her shop as well.



I'm going to try to remember/find time to take some photos of the yard and house this weekend to share with you on Monday—I'm on iris watch as they are getting pretty close to blooming!

Sponsor Spotlight: Patti's Pics

 If you're interested in becoming a sponsor of Things We Make, email me at thingswemake [at] gmail [dot] com and I'll be happy to provide you with info.

Name:  Patti Melfi*

Location: Exton, PA

Site: zazzle.com/pattirm1 

 

Tell me a little bit about your style of photograhy.

 I’ve been looking all over the world for my “style”. I guess I would say it’s eclectic.

How did you decide to start selling your work? 

My brother introduced me to Zazzle. Since one of my favorite hobbies is sitting in front of the computer, it seemed the perfect marriage. My pictures plus the internet equates to sales of my products.

What is it about taking pictures that you enjoy so much? 

The entire process. Seeing the shot. Attempting to catch said shot. Seeing it complete for the first time. Reviewing it in the future again and again. A moment on this earth, frozen forever.

How do you work- do you bring your camera with the specific intention to take photographs, or do you just keep it on you in case inspiration strikes?

 My brother once said my camera should be surgically implanted in my forehead. I have it with me all the time, waiting. There are frustrating times, when I see the shot and I’m driving. No shot. Times when I see the shot, shoot and miss the opportunity.  Times when I leave the house in a rush, for just a few seconds…and not take the camera...inevitably a mermaid riding a unicorn crosses my path.   

Is this your full-time work? 

No. I have a day job—the cubicle type—where I daydream all day, waiting to shoot, edit, produce and Zazzle again.

Where do you find your inspiration? 

Earth, whimsy, flora and wildlife seem to inspire me the most. I absolutely love to view pictures of people. Yet, when I see a portrait shot through my lens, it disintegrates in process—never resembles my idea. National Geographic is my awe-inspiring escape, both printed and on-line. Viewing those shots (with my jaw dropped in awe) fortifies my desire to check my battery and lift the camera to my face once again.

*Patti is my aunt, which means that I am often ducking out of the way of her camera. But it's really just because I want to give her more chances to capture the pretty flowers.

Fantastic Floral Brooches by Ruby-Jo

Mother's Day is fast approaching and I fully admit that it snuck up on me a little bit this year (isn't it usually later?). Anyway, I took care of my gifting needs yesterday—get excited mom!—but these floral fabric brooches from Jo of Ruby-Jo seem like they would make a perfect gift for any mom. I particularly love the range of fabric that she uses and that each one is it's own little sweet self.

According to Jo, "each piece is made with a little love and a whole lot of care and attention to detail" which I think you can see in the final result.

Jo also makes pillows and bags, so keep an eye on her etsy shop for updates!

Weekend Highlights: Making a Home

We've officially been living in our house for a week, which is a little hard to believe—it feels like this place where we live, the way in which we live, is completely normal and for lack of a better term, ours. To give you a sense of what we've been up to—and why I have been simply staring at pretty fabric rather than doing anything with it—here's some of what we've been up to around the house.


Moved in
Prepped, primed and painted the living room, dining room and kitchen (which I just finished yesterday and am happy to report that the hours and careful maneuvering required resulted in the prettiest shade of pale yellow)
Unpacked
Broke down more boxes than I can count
Washed the baseboards, some of the windowsills (I'm pacing myself with those), the floors (some more than once already)
Ate approximately 10 meals on the screened in porch, where I can sit and stare, or read depending on my mood, for hours.
Jiggled my fridge on more than one ocassion to make it stop rattling (so far, so good)
Learned that I have to deal with my small poorly designed sink because of the size of my otherwise lovely 1940s kitchen cabinets
Bought lumber for 2 raised beds, made said beds and filled them with soil
Bought tomato and pepper seedlings for beds from the farmers market and bought some heirloom lettuce, melon and herb seeds to plant (that will go with the beets, beans, and squash seeds leftover from last year)
Made ice cream for the first time (butter pecan, using the recipe from the Cuisinart booklet that came with the maker. So good and so easy!)

I'd bet that all of you know the particular fatigue that comes with moving house—there have been a handful of nights of getting into bed before dark—but I've already decided that even though I have one more door to paint, even though I really need to touch up the woodwork and  start learning about the plants in our yard, I'm going to sew next weekend. It's officially time to start a new quilting project.

April Mini Print of the Month: Memories of the Beach

I'm a big fan of Hannah's food blog, Honey and Jam both for the recipes and the photography. I recently discovered that she sells some of her photographs, which was very exciting to be sure, and her site went straight into my favorites for safe keeping until I was ready to post April's mini-print of the month. She takes a lot of food still life shots, but this one, called Memories at the Beach, really pulled at me since I sent so many summers on the beach in Jersey as a kid. I ordered it in a 5x7 and for the time being, it's sitting propped up by my computer at home. I can't wait to get it framed and find a more permanent home for it.

Link Love: Feeling Like Lace

I've been feeling more drawn to lace than usual lately, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite recent finds. I'm hoping to get out to some antique/thrift stores soon (it's been forever!) and am definitely going to keep an eye out for some vintage pieces to play with.

Above and below are pieces from Tuuni on etsy. She lives in Finland and uses mainly vintage and recycled materials. I am slightly obsessed with her combination of lace and linen.

This looks like a project that would be great for centerpieces at a small event. Amy over at Mod Podge Rocks posted these lace tea lights as a project of the week back in March, via the girls at the design blog Mint.

While this last one is technically a crocheted linen thread lariat, it looks like lace and would be a simple, yet stunning pair with a basic tee. This is from magdalinen, a maker based in Latvia, who offers some fantastic and floral-inspired accessories. She also uses a lot of recycled materials and linen, which is making me realize that it's really the combination of lace and linen that is speaking to me.

Spring's In the Bag: Custom Clutches by Natalie of Stansberry

Last weekend I took a break from packing and stopped by Craft Saturday. I hadn't been to one since summer and it was so nice to get a hit of a craft fair in a very manageable dose. One of my favorite new-to-me designers was Natalie of Stansberry Design. I was drawn to her table by the thin scarves she had hanging, but definitely loved getting a close up of her bags and clutches. Love those big flowers!


About her work, Natalie says :

My maternal grandmother was an avid quilter and dressmaker. While my mother also dabbled in sewing, her real passion is gardening - especially flowers. I honor them both with my "flower-inspired" handbag and accessories line.

I just love how she's taken those influences to make something entirely new. Check out her etsy shop to see more close ups of her work.